Trial by Fire by Jo Davis Read Free Book Online Page B

going, anyway?”
    Howard followed, bracing a brawny shoulder against the arched entry to the kitchen. “If you still need to run by your parents’ house, we can go there first. I don’t want you dropping by alone.” His jaw tightened.
    “I’d planned to, but Daddy called back early this morning and said not to bother since it’s Sunday and there’s no mail. Plus, Joan and Greg caught an emergency flight from Puerto Rico when they docked, so they’ll be back tonight and staying at my folks’ house while they straighten out the mess at theirs. I don’t believe that’s Daddy’s real reason for telling me not to drop by, though.”
    Grabbing a pair of utility scissors from the junk drawer, she sliced the plastic off the stems. “I didn’t tell him I missed the killer by a hair, but I think he and Mom suspect. The old parental radar on full alert.”
    “Yeah, I hear you. Bentley and Georgie have always been superprotective of me. When I was a kid, I couldn’t sneeze without Georgie rushing me to the clinic.”
    Puzzled, she threw him a questioning glance. An odd shadow passed across his face, a certain . . . sadness. “They’re your parents?” Arranging the flowers in the vase, she pretended not to notice his sudden discomfort.
    “My adoptive parents. I went to live with them when I was four years old. Bentley Mitchell is Sugarland’s fire chief and my boss.”
    How strange to hear Howard refer to the people who raised him by their first names. There was a distance between him and his folks, yet she couldn’t mistake his love and pride as he spoke of them. Didn’t most young children grow to call their adoptive parents Mom and Dad, given time to recover from whatever trauma they’d been through? Kat was no expert, but this seemed to be true of her few students who were adopted.
    “They must be wonderful people,” she said carefully, filling the vase with water.
    “The best.” Blinking, he cleared his throat, then pasted on a cheerful smile. “Are you ready?”
    “To go where?” Quickly, she discarded the plastic and dead leaves, and wiped her hands on a small towel.
    “It’s a surprise. Afraid of riding a motorcycle?”
    “Ha! Remember, I teach six-year-olds. Takes a lot more than a piece of loud machinery to scare me, Lieutenant. ”
    His lips turned up, mocha gaze warming with approval. “Woman after my own heart. I’ve got a helmet for you, so get a jacket and we’re off.”
    Lifting the vase, she took it to the round oak dining table and placed the arrangement in the middle. Festive, she decided, just what the room needed. Next she snatched her blue windbreaker off the back of a dining chair and shrugged it on, then grabbed her purse and keys.
    “Ready.”
    “You don’t really need your purse where we’re going.”
    Kat’s brows rose. “You don’t date much, do you, hotshot?”
    Thumbs hitched in his pockets, he ducked his head briefly, then glanced back up with a sheepish grin. “No, ma’am.”
    Good answer, even if it was a bald-faced lie.
    Deciding to take his word, she left the purse behind and brought only her spare apartment key. Outside, she locked the door and followed him to the hulking Harley, shoving the key into her front jeans pocket. He strapped on her helmet, making sure it fit snugly before donning his own. Climbing onto the bike, he gestured for her to get on behind him.
    “Scoot close and hang on tight, arms around my waist.”
    Ohh yeah. Got it covered, sugar.
    She climbed on and molded her front to his broad back, the insides of her thighs pressed to the outsides of his.
    Never had Kat imagined riding double on a motorcycle would seem like such an intimate act. The heat of his powerful body seared her to the core, brought every female hormone in her system leaping to attention. She wrapped her arms around his middle, suddenly very glad to have a reason to touch him. Any reason.
    He pointed down. “Put your feet up on those rests.” When she was positioned,